“No enemy is worse than
indifference! All mischief takes place with
the tacit consent of the indifferent."Tatyana
Tolstaya.

A discussion on the death penalty will be held in
Minsk on Tuesday, 8 October. The event is organized by volunteers of
the campaign "Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty
in Belarus" within the "Week against the death
penalty".

All pros and cons of the death penalty will be
considered during the discussion.

Speeches will be delivered
by two invited experts: Mechyslau Hryb – a famous Belarusian
lawyer, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Belarus ,
Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights of the Presidium of the
Supreme Soviet (1994-1996 years), and Andrei Paluda, coordinator of
the campaign "Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty
in Belarus”.

World Day Against the Death Penalty, which is
celebrated annually on 10 October, was established in 2003 by the
Global Coalition to ban the death penalty, which includes more than
135 human rights organizations, bar associations, trade unions, local
and regional authorities.

Belarus is the only country in
Europe and the CIS, where the death penalty is still used.

In
1991-2012 more than 400 people were punished with death in Belarus.
In 2012 at least 3 people were shot. In 2013 three death sentences
were issued.